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Meerkat
A meerkat Siricata suricatta) is a small mammal found in the mongoose family. The other name they are somtimes refered to is Suricates. Meerkats inhabit all parts in the Kalahari Desert in Botswana and South Africa. Meerkats got their name from a name meaning 'loaword' from Afrikaans language. The name has a Dutch origin but by misidentification. In Dutch 'meerkat' means 'guenon'. Meerkats are small animals and therefore like all small species, they have a high rate of predation. This is why they have adapted so well in the desert areas through team work. A meerkat's life depends almost 80% on team work which is why meerkats are animals with the most sofisticated social structure of all animals and the basic building block of the social structure is the family group. Meerkats live in groups inorder to not only share sentry duty but also offer each other support and well being, which is what makes them so unque, very few species have the same cohesive society as meerkats. Anatomy A meerkat is a small diurnal herpestid(mongoose). Males weigh 731 grams(1.61 pounds) while females weigh 720 grams(1.58 pounds). It has a long slender body and limbs give it a body length of 25 to 35 cm(10 to 14 inches) and with a tail length of 17 to 25 cm(7 to 10 inches). It has a tail which is not bushy like other mongoose species but is rather long and thin and tappers to a black tiped coloured tail. Meerkats use their tales for balance when standing upright. Its face tapers,coming to a point at the nose,which is brown. Their eyes always have black patches around them which helps to deflect the glare of the sun. Meerkats have small black crescent-shaped ears that can close when digging to keep sand out. Meerkats have binocular vision,a large peripheral range,depth percipitation and eyes on the front of their faces. At the end of each of a meerkat's fingers is a nonretractable strong claw used for digging burrows for prey. Claws are also used at the macular hindlegs to help climd the occasional tree. They have four toes on each foot and long slender limbs. The coat is usually fawn coloured They have short parallel stripes across their backs,extending from the base of the tail to the shoulders. The patterns of stripes are unique to each individual. The unserside of the body has no markings but the belly has a patch which is only sparsely with hair and shows black skin underneath. Meerkats use this area to absorb the sun's heat while standing on their rear legs, usually early in the morning after cold desert nights. Diet and Foraging behaviour Meerkats are primarily insectivores preying on a variety of insects. They will also prey on lizards,scorpions,snakes,spiders,plants,eggs,small mammals,millepedes,centipedes,burrowing skinks and more rarely small birds. They are partially immune to certain venoms such as the very strong venom of scorpions of the Kalahari Desert,unlike humans. They have no excess body fat stores so foraging for food is a daily activity. Meerkats forage in a group with one sentry on duty keeping watch for predators while the rest of the group search for food. Senthry duty is usually approximately an hour long. Pups do not start to independently forage for their own food until the age of 1 month old and do so by following an older member of the group who acts as the pup's tutor. The individual standing on guard gives a peeping sound called the 'watchman's song' that reasures others that there is someone on sentry duty. Social structure Meerkats are co-operatively breeding animals, subordinate individuals help to raise pups which are not their own. They live in groups of 5-50 consisting of a dominant pair and their offspring which remain in their natal group until adulthood and help the dominant pair to rear more pups. The dominant meerkat pair are usually the only animals to successfully breed and the likelihood that their pups' survival will strongly on rainfall as this affects food availability and the number of helpers to care for the pups. Meerkat Group Meerkats have a life which is 80% based on team work. Their small size makes them highly predatable so by living in groups they not only provide each other with an early warning system but also other life structures also depend on group living. Meerkats live in groups which can varry depending on food availability and high resources within a territory range.